On Assassinations - Baker, Kenneth

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Résumé :
In this revealing look at the history of assassinations, Kenneth Baker examines over a hundred political and religious murders or attempted murders, ranging from Julius Caesar to President Kennedy to Osama bin Laden. 0Assassins hope to change the world, but rarely succeed: Baker concludes that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914 was the only one that changed the history of the world. Other assassinations, whether of monarchs, politicians, dissidents, clerics, journalists or others at best give only a glancing blow at history. The author concludes that, in Macbeth's words, an assassination `is a poisoned chalice.' 0Kenneth Baker also reveals that since 1945 there have been fewer individual assassins working alone; now assassinations are more likely to be carried out by political and religious terrorists, or by the security services of certain states to eliminate dissidents. Not only Russia and Israel, but the USA, the UK and others have resorted to targeted killings when they consider their security is under threat. On Assassinations shows how we have moved from the era of individual assassinations, through to terror groups' murders and now onto state-sponsored targeted killings.

Biographie:
Kenneth Baker, Lord Baker of Dorking CH, is a British politician and a former Conservative MP who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major as Environment Secretary, Education Secretary, and Home Secretary. He is the author of many books, including, most recently, On the Burning of Books and On the Seven Deadly Sins, also published by Unicorn....

Sommaire:
In this revealing look at the history of assassinations, Kenneth Baker examines over one hundred political and religious murders and murder attempts, from the murder of Julius Caesar to the assassination of John F. Kennedy to the raid of Osama bin Laden's compound. Assassins hope to change the world, but rarely succeed: Baker suggests that the 1914 assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo was the only one that changed the course of history. Other assassinations, whether of monarchs, politicians, dissidents, clerics, journalists, or others, at best give history only a glancing blow.

Baker concludes that, in Macbeth's words, an assassination is a poisoned chalice. In a wide-ranging and informative history, Baker also explores the evolution of assassinations. Since 1945, fewer and fewer assassins work alone. Rather, assassinations are increasingly more likely to be carried out by political and religious terrorists or by the security services of certain states to eliminate dissidents. Russia, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other governments have utilized targeted killings when they consider their security to be under threat. An eye-opening exploration of the history of killing, On Assassinations shows us that the days of individual assassinations has ended, and a new era of mass murders and state-sponsored killings has begun....